Kingdom Hearts: Broken Brotherhood (Final Mix)
by Apartion
Summary: "My brother pupil Eraqus thinks only in absolutes. He has persuaded himself that light is the only way, but forgets that light cannot exist without shadow." (A "remaster" of my first fanfiction! This includes grammar and spelling edits, added dialogue and detail, and changes made to reflect new entries in the series!)
1. Day 1

Xehanort had trouble sleeping the night before, and thus he had slept most of the day, a display of laziness one might think unbecoming of one who wished to become a Keyblade Master, someday.

But this was the Land of Departure, set in a sea of stars that held no conflict.

Xehanort was tired, and most likely would've slept through the night, had Eraqus not come running into his room, slamming the door open and then shut.

 _ **"XEHANORT!"** _ Eraqus yelled, jumping onto his brother-pupil's bed and beginning to shake him.

Rudely woken up, Xehanort quickly pushed Eraqus to the foot of the bed. _**"What are you doing, Eraqus?"** _ He asked grumpily, yawning. _**"I told you to let me sleep. You had better have a good reason for waking me up like this."**_

 _ **"I do, Xehanort! The Master has chosen when we will take the Mark of Mastery exam!"**_ Eraqus yelled, cheerfully.

It took Xehanort a few moments to process this as he recovered from his sudden awakening. His eyes then shot open wide, and he grabbed onto Eraqus' shoulders, returning the shake he had just received himself.

 _ **"Don't just yell that and then say nothing! Tell me more, Eraqus!"**_ He watched as Eraqus stuttered, getting out bits and pieces of words, before finally, something that resembled an actual sentence stumbled out of him.

 _ **"Let's just have you find out from him!"** _ He then grabbed Xehanort by the arm, and attempted to drag him out of bed, literally.

 ** _"Let go of me!"_** Xehanort said, pushing Eraqus away in response. **_"I'm not going outside in just my shorts! I'll be out as soon as I get dressed."_**

 _ **"Fine, fine! I'm coming back in ten minutes if you aren't outside by then, though!"**_ Eraqus warned, before quickly rushing out of the room.

Xehanort didn't take much time at all getting dressed. He might have acted semi-calm in front of Eraqus, but the reality was that he had been waiting for so long to hear some talk of the Mark of Mastery exam for himself and his brother, and here was not just that, but a day already chosen, as well?

He was excited, and left his room quickly. Stepping out of the castle door, Xehanort ascended the steps to the platform, where his Master and Eraqus were, standing at the edge, arms set on the railing. Eraqus turned to look at Xehanort, a huge grin coming across his face.

 _ **"Master, Xehanort's arrived!"** _He yelled as he looked up at his teacher.

 _ **"Calm, Eraqus. I already know."** _ He replied, waving his hand close to his chest in acknowledgment. _**"Xehanort,"**_ He said, turning to greet him, _**"I am glad you're here."**_

 _ **"Thank you, Master."**_ Xehanort replied, _**"Eraqus told me you have decided upon a day for our Mark of Mastery test?"**_

 _ **"Ah, yes, I suppose that's why you were so quick to rush out here. I have been watching you both grow from apprentices into true Keyblade Warriors. I could keep you as you are for the rest of your lives,"**_ He said, letting out a short chuckle, _**"but the title of Master must extend beyond just me, as it did with my Master, when I was chosen to prove myself."**_ He looked Xehanort in the eyes, smiling warmly. _**"And so, I decided it was time to see if you could both surpass what barriers stand before you still as Keyblade Wielders, by taking the Mark of Mastery. I have no doubt you will both succeed in doing so."**_

 _ **"I will do my best to please you, Master."** _ Xehanort replied, bowing once more. _**"When will we be tested?"**_

 _ **"It's not about pleasing me, Xehanort, though I am certain it will do that regardless. But, alas. Four days from now will be when you attempt to show the Mark. There will be some last-minute preparations, so I expect both of you to return to your normal sleeping schedules."** _ He said, his gaze going from Xehanort to Eraqus after a few moments, before turning back to the edge. " _ **You may go, Eraqus."**_

 _ **"Yes, Master!"**_ Eraqus exclaimed. He ran to the castle door, stopping for a moment to turn and yell. _**"You coming, Xehanort?"**_

 _ **"Yes, Eraqus."** _ He yelled back. He began to walk away as well, but stopped when his Master called for him.

 _ **"Xehanort. Remain here with me for a short time. I must speak to you of something."**_

Xehanort turned back to him as he heard this, and walked over. Eraqus, meanwhile, went into the castle as Xehanort did so, leaving the door open.

 _ **"Yes, Master?"**_ Xehanort inquired.

 _ **"Xehanort... You have grown so much since I first took you as my apprentice."**_ He replied, his back still turned to his student. _**"You and Eraqus have both made me very proud."**_

 _ **"Thank you, Master. I try my best, and Eraqus does, too."**_

 _ **"But..."**_ The Master sighed, _**"...there is something that worries me about you, in particular."**_

 _ **"What might that be, Master?"** _ Xehanort asked, a concerned look spread across his face.

 _ **"I have not only heard, but seen your use of darkness."** _ Xehanort's Master explained, turning to face his pupil. _**"You must remember, darkness is not simply a forbidden power... but it is a parasite, as well. Continuous use of darkness can corrupt you. You have come so far... I do not wish to see you lose yourself to the darkness."**_

 _ **"But, Master-"** _ Xehanort attempted to plead.

 _ **"No, Xehanort."** _ Said the Master, as he cut his student's plea short. _**"I do not wish to be harsh on you, or strict, but I do not want to see or hear of you wielding darkness any longer. I am only trying to protect you."**_

 _ **"...Yes, Master. I apologize."** _ He replied, as he hung his head down, gazing silently at the ground.

 _ **"It is alright, Xehanort. Now, go. Eraqus is most likely waiting for you."**_

 _ **"Indeed. Goodbye for now, Master."**_

He turned and walked away, entering the door that led into the castle. As he turned, shutting the door, he saw a glimpse of his Master, still standing on the hill, gazing up at the dark night.

 _ **"Darkness..."**_ He thought.


	2. Day 2

Xehanort woke up that morning early as planned, though he woke shaking and in a cold sweat. He'd had a nightmare of some sort, though he couldn't remember what it was.

He pulled himself out of bed and went to his closet to get his clothes, only realizing he was already wearing them as he opened the closet door.

 **"That's right,"** He remembered, **"I decided to be ready at all times until after our Mark of Mastery."**

Opening his door and leaving his room, he gently shut it behind him, turning afterwards and making his way to the library. He noticed it was empty as he entered, but he had expected such.

He looked at the titles of the books as he walked slowly from bookshelf to bookshelf. Most of these books were history books, and the musings of keyblade wielders from a time long passed.

Normally he would be outside, likely with Eraqus, but the night before had affected him on a deeper level, moreso than most things his Master ever said to him. He never understood the condemnation of darkness, and so here he found himself in the library, looking for a book to justify his usage of it.

Surely, he thought, there must be some account of a keyblade wielder - or even master - who had extensively used the darkness but had not fallen to it.

But none of these books were this possible account he hoped to find. As he looked further upwards, he saw locks and chains binding some shelves, as if to block anyone from reading the books held on them.

He sighed in semi-defeat, as he realized that with his Master's leanings, any book like what he was looking for was likely on that shelf, away from the reach of any that would care to find out more about "forbidden" arts.

As such, he resigned himself to reading a book about some sort of whale that ate those who stayed too long in the lanes in-between - A boring read, to him, as it had to be fiction, due to how many times he and Eraqus stayed long in the lanes in-between without seeing such a colossal fish.

 **"Agh,"** He scoffed, **"I'm overanalyzing a children's tale. Perhaps it would be better for me to go outside. I wonder what Eraqus is doing..."**

He set the book down on the table he had been sitting at while reading it, and made his way outside. There, he made his way to a large hill, where he figured he could see Eraqus from.

Upon reaching the top of the hill, Xehanort looked around, and noticed something in the distance after a minute or so. Some sort of black fog far off from there, that seemed to grow as he gazed at it from afar.

His face turned to a look of confusion, and then slight shock, jumping back a bit as he saw two glowing yellow eyes appear in the middle of the dark cloud. He had to investigate this, and so he quickly slid down the hill.

But once he reached the bottom, he looked back up to find the fog completely gone. Was that just a figment of his imagination? He became lost in thought for a few moments. However, his train of thought didn't last long. He was suddenly knocked to the ground, as Eraqus tumbled straight into him, having just slid down the hill himself.

 **"Found ya!"** Eraqus shouted, laughing as he rolled onto his stomach, picking himself up off of the ground from there.

Xehanort got up as well, wiping the dirt off of his shirt as he stood. **"You like making crude, explosive entrances, don't you?"**

 **"Who doesn't like over-the-top stuff?"** Eraqus asked, grinning wide.

Xehanort smirked, chuckling briefly. **"Well, I know that one world's Prince... what was his name? I can't remember, but the Prince of those fish people? You recall that, yes?"**

Eraqus' expression went to embarassment. **"Oh, er... yeah, I remember."**

Grinning back at him, Xehanort patted him on the shoulder. **"It's alright, Eraqus. Nothing wrong with getting keyblade wielders as a whole banished from an entire wor-"**

Eraqus put his hand over Xehanort's mouth quickly, his eyes wide. **"Don't! I swore you to secrecy on that, we can't ever let the Master know!"**

Xehanort let out a muffled laugh, nodding in response. Eraqus pulled his hand away, and sighed.

 **"Say, Eraqus. Did you see anything over that way?"** Xehanort asked, pointing towards where he had seen the dark fog.

Looking over, Eraqus shook his head. **"Nope. Why?"**

Xehanort let out a disappointed sigh. **"No reason, I suppose."**

A devious grin came across Eraqus' face in response to Xehanort's dismissal. **"What's wrong, you got a GIRLFRIEND over there!?"** He asked, quickly running that way.

Xehanort chuckled as he shook his head. **"There's only three of us on this world, idiot!"** He shouted teasingly as he chased after his younger brother-pupil.

They would engage in their usual activities until nightfall, at which point they made their way up to the hill and sat against a large stone at the top.

 **"I bet you that one's Radiant Garden."** Eraqus told Xehanort, pointing up at a particularly bright star in the night sky.

A small smile grew on Xehanort as he looked up. **"There's so many up there, there's almost no chance you're right."**

Eraqus smirked slyly at Xehanort. **"Wanna bet?"**

Xehanort burst out laughing, looking over towards Eraqus. **"There's no way we could even figure out who was right in a bet like that."**

Eraqus joined him in laughing, and the two sat silent looking at stars for a few more minutes, before Eraqus finally stood up.

 **"I'm getting tired,"** Eraqus said, yawning, **"so I'm going to head to bed."**

Xehanort nodded as he looked over to Eraqus. **"I'll be staying out here for a little while. The stars seem brighter than I've ever seen them, tonight."**

 **"Alright."** Eraqus said, sleepily. **"Good night, Xehanort."**

 **"Good night, Eraqus."** Xehanort said, smiling at Eraqus. He turned his head up to the night sky as he heard the sound of the castle door shutting. As he gazed at the star-filled sky, his thoughts went back to the debate him and Eraqus had earlier. He realized that he was right, because of the very reason he decided to stay out a while longer.

 **"There's a reason the stars shine brighter every night."** He noted, in his thoughts. **"There's a reason why the night seems to be shorter than the day."**

He stared upwards a bit longer, before walking back into the castle. His thoughts on this matter ended for the night as he took one last look at the sky.

 **"It's because it is."**


	3. Day 3

Waking up early once more, Xehanort hopped out of bed and went to his door. On it was a note, signed by his master, telling him to come to a nearby oasis.

He followed the instructions, and made his way through a cave near the castle. He ended up in the oasis, which was, in all actuality, inside the cave, though there was no roof and you could see the sky overhead.

There, on the other side of a pond, was his Master, looking up at the sky, back turned to the pond, with his hands clasped behind him in thought.

Xehanort circled around the pond, and stood next to his Master, looking up at the sky with him. Silence ensued for several moments, until his Master opened his eyes.

 _ **"It is a beautiful sight, isn't it?"**_ The Master asked.

In return, Xehanort nodded. _**"It is quite beautiful, yes."**_

 _ **"I trust you've heeded my advice, my pupil?"**_ Xehanort's Master asked, without looking away from the sky.

Xehanort sighed. _**"I haven't used darkness since you spoke to me."**_

The Master then finally broke his gaze and looked at Xehanort. _**"That does not mean that you've heeded my ad-"**_

He was cut off, however, as Eraqus ran in, yelling. _**"Xehanort! Master!"**_ He called out, running around the pond to get to them.

Xehanort smiled towards Eraqus, as their Master did the same, not finishing his sentence.

 _ **"Good, you're both here now,"**_ Their Master stated, _**"and so now we can begin."**_

Xehanort looked from Eraqus to their Master. _**"Begin what, Master?"**_ He asked curiously.

Turning to face them, their Master unclasped his hands, and let them stay at his side. _**"Your preparations for the Mark of Mastery. Today, you will undergo preparation of the mind, spirit, and heart."**_

Eraqus looked on excitedly, as Xehanort nodded understandingly. _**"What must we do?"**_ Xehanort asked.

Their Master motioned to the pond. _**"First, you must sit. Face the pond, and listen."**_

The two did as they were told, sitting side by side and looking into the pond. It was very clear water, sparkling from the light that shone on it.

 _ **"Now,"**_ Their Master continued, _**"this is an oasis unlike any other on this world. This is where I made my preparations in this way - You see, this oasis, this pond... looking into it allows you to look into your inner self. To enter your mind, spirit, and heart, and know yourself through and through, entirely, in a way you'd never known yourself before."**_

 _ **"We just have to look at the water?"**_ Eraqus asked, confused.

Their Master nodded. _**"Indeed, you must gaze into the water, and question yourself. I cannot tell you what you will find, I can only guide you to getting there to find it."**_

The two pupils nodded, and gazed into the water. Xehanort began to feel out-of-body. He blinked a few times, and then eventually, closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he was surrounded by blackness - Not in the oasis anymore, it seemed. He looked at the ground below him, which seemed to be stained glass, though he was too close to recognize what it depicted.

He walked forward, looking around. As he reached the edge of the platform, stairs appeared, held up by nothing. He saw another platform in the distance, and understood. Running down the stairs to the next platform, he arrived, and noticed a door.

Approaching it, he looked around, though saw nothing else. When he tried to open it, he found it was locked. He stood there in thought for a moment, before a disembodied voice spoke to him, booming throughout the blackness around him.

 _ **"What do you seek?"**_

Xehanort looked around him, but quickly realized he wouldn't find a face or body for the voice. He thought for a moment, and then looked towards the door.

 _ **"I seek change."**_

There was silence, and then then voice spoke once more.

 _ **"What will you use to find change?"**_

Xehanort didn't need to think about this answer - He knew what he needed. _**"Power."**_

Silence ensued once more, and then was followed by an unlocking sound. Xehanort opened the door, and walked through it.

He found himself in what he assumed must be a vision. He saw the large, grand main room of the Land of Departure's castle. He saw a figure seated in the middle throne at the end of the room, and in-between him and the figure were many young keyblade wielders, some who had an aura of darkness around him, some who had an aura of light.

As far as he could tell, they were not fighting. They were simply talking to each other - Co-existing. This was a vision of what he sought, he realized. A balance of elements, light and dark existing alongside each other.

As he walked forward, those he passed behind disappeared. He finally reached the end of the room, and had a good look at the figure on the throne. He was a man, it seemed - Clad in silver-blue armor.

He had large plated boots on, with black baggy pants without armor, the lower parts of which were tucked into the boots. His upper half was fully armored in plate - The breastplate had a strange symbol on it he'd never seen before, and his gauntlets had clawed fingers.

On his left shoulder sat half a tall, golden crown, and on his right was a small white angel wing. His face was covered by a helmet with no visor, and a three-pronged golden crown rose from the front of his helmet.

He wasn't sure who this was, as he'd never seen keyblade armor like this man's before. Perhaps this man was simply a symbol - The depiction of a leader, a Master who allowed darkness and light their equal balance.

The more he thought of this, the more he accepted that this figure symbolized who he wanted to be, and what he wanted to see from the leadership of the Land of Departure in years to come.

The man then stood up, and looked at Xehanort. He pointed to the back of the room, behind the thrones, where another door had appeared. Xehanort nodded at the man, and went to the door.

As the man looked on, Xehanort heard another voice.

 _ **"What do you hold dear?"**_

Xehanort didn't have to think about this question, either. _**"My home... and my family."**_

He expected another question, but instead was met with the unlocking sound. He looked back to the armored man, who nodded once towards him. Xehanort then turned to face the door, opened it, and went through.

He was now at the bottom of a hill, which he recognized was the one him and Eraqus often sat at. At the top of the hill, he saw two men, older men that were comparable in age to his and Eraqus' Master.

Xehanort slowly climbed up the hill, and got a better look at the two men, though only from behind. On the right was a man in a white coat, with a red rim. He was wearing light brown pants with wide-opened bottoms on the legs, and had armored boots on his feet. His skin was very lightly tanned, and he had black hair, held up in a bun.

He then looked at the man on the left. A very slightly hunched man, with dark tan skin. He was wearing a black coat, with long white gloves and black boots. The man was bald, and his ears were slightly pointed. His hands were clasped behind his back, and he seemed to be talking to the white-coated man, though Xehanort heard nothing.

Xehanort looked up at the sky, and saw it bizarrely. The left half of the sky was darkened, and the right half was lit up bright, though in the middle they merged together seamlessly. Xehanort then realized who these two men were - They were him, and Eraqus, but much older.

This was a happy sight for him, to see that in a possible future, even with their differences, he and Eraqus could still be friends, could still be brothers, and embrace their differences rather than damn each other over them.

He walked up the hill, and looked towards them. They then looked to him, silently. Xehanort nodded at the older versions of himself and his brother-pupil, and followed their gaze when it turned in front of them.

He saw another door, and understood. He walked up to it, and listened for the voice.

 _ **"What will you give to achieve your heart's desires?"**_

Xehanort looked at the door, lost in thought for a moment, before looking up at the sky. _**"I will give anything, and everything."**_

The door unlocked, and Xehanort went through. What he emerged into was not as comforting as the last two visions.

He was in front of the main gate of the Land of Departure, but the sky was pitch black, and covered the world in it's darkness. He looked up at the castle, which was being torn apart by a shadowy storm thundering in the sky. In the eye of the storm, he saw just that - A literal eye, blue, with a pitch-black, cat-like pupil.

He'd never seen a symbol like that before, but wasn't able to think further on it, as the land around him was crumbling and dying, and he struggled to breathe. It took him a minute to understood what this vision meant. He understood it that this vision was a depiction of what he could end up doing.

 _ **"No..."**_ He said quietly to himself _ **. "This is not what I want!"**_ He yelled.

The voice boomed, crackling throughout the darkened, dying sky in response. _**"To achieve the desires of one's heart, one will not always encounter what they want."**_

 _ **"I won't let something like this happen when I follow my heart!"**_

Silence ensued, and a door appeared on the edge of a crumbled platform. Xehanort made his way to it, and listened for the voice.

 _ **"You will not always control what happens."**_

The door unlocked, and Xehanort went through.

He woke up at the Oasis, and jumped up, looking around. He was conscious again, and looked towards his Master, who had Eraqus at his side.

 _ **"Your awakening took longer than most. It must have been filled with revelations, I assume?"**_ Their Master asked, as Eraqus looked towards Xehanort intently, eager to hear what he saw.

 _ **"Revelations... Yes, I suppose so."**_ Xehanort replied.

Eraqus' face turned to that of disappointment. _**"Aren't you going to tell us what you saw!?"**_

Their Master looked to Eraqus. _**"It is not our business, what the inner machinations of a person's heart are. If Xehanort wishes to tell you sometime, he may, but do not ask him yourself."**_

Eraqus huffed, but finally nodded in acceptance. Xehanort burst out laughing, and was joined by Eraqus. Eventually, they even got a very brief chuckle out of their Master.

 _ **"What now, Master?"**_ Xehanort asked curiously.

 _ **"A dive into the heart is a tiring process, and I won't ask either of you to do anything else today. You are free to do as you wish."**_ He explained in reply, smiling at the both of them.

Eraqus cheered. _**"Awesome!"**_ He then ran off, exiting the cave. Without a word between the two, their Master departed as well.

Xehanort soon walked to the exit, and looked back at the pond one last time. He wasn't going to let that last vision come true. He was going to find another way, no matter what.

He then departed from the oasis, as ominous yellow eyes in a black fog watched him from behind.


	4. Day 4

Xehanort was awoken by his Master himself, this morning. He sat up as quickly as he could, and looked up at his Master.

 _ **"Good morning, Xehanort."**_ The Master said, looking down with a smile on his face.

Xehanort smiled back up at him. _**"Good morning, Master. I assume another day of preparations?"**_

The Master nodded, holding out his hand to help Xehanort up quicker. _**"That's correct, it's quite early - Not even light out yet, and we're going to do a bit of physical preparations for you and Eraqus."**_

Xehanort nodded and accepted his Master's help up. _**"Is Eraqus up yet?"**_

 _ **"No,"**_ His Master replied, shaking his head. _**"He's asleep still, but we're going to go get him up."**_

Nodding once more, Xehanort followed his Master out of his room, and walked down the hallway. They reached Eraqus' door very shortly afterwards, and the Master motioned to the door.

 _ **"You know how to get Eraqus up better than I do."**_ He explained.

Chuckling, Xehanort quickly slammed open the door, rushed in, and shook Eraqus. _**"Eraqus! Eraqus, you have to wake up! The Land of Departure is under attack!"**_

Eraqus jumped up quickly, dizzily swaying around. _**"I'm-I'm ready, let's do this! Where are they!? What are they!?"**_

Their Master shook his head, laughing. _**"Calm, Eraqus. It's a joke, I suppose. Is this really how you and Xehanort prank each other?"**_

Eraqus looked a bit dumbfounded, his eyes still tired. _**"Huh...? Oh. OH! Xehanort!"**_ He shouted, playfully punching Xehanort's shoulder.

 _ **"Come on, you two. I've got something planned for your physical preparations."**_ The Master explained.

The two young men followed their Master out of the castle, walking across a field as the darkness in the sky very slowly began lightening. Their Master summoned his keyblade, and rose it to the sky. Small pillars of light shot down to the ground, forming orbs of light that began circling around.

He then sliced downward through the air, creating a large wall of light that separated Eraqus and Xehanort, and then expanded to create two boxes around them, finishing with a ceiling.

 _ **"Now,"**_ Their Master shouted, _**"You will both only use your keyblades for this, no magic except to alter your keyblade as needed. The orbs react violently when attacked, and when one is destroyed while others survive, it will split into two. A bit complex for simple preparations, but you two are quite decent with your keyblades, and the real test... Well, that's for another day."**_

Xehanort summoned his keyblade, and looked towards the three circling orbs of light. He threw his keyblade, hitting each of the orbs, but to his dismay, they instantly split before the next one was hit.

He recalled his keyblade as the orbs began shooting back and forth from wall to wall. Xehanort rolled and leapt out of the way as best he could, being hit once or twice.

He summoned copy images of his keyblade and struck all of the now six total orbs at once, though they simply split again, and his dodging went on double time.

Thinking as he avoided the orbs, he looked towards the wall separating him and Eraqus after hearing his brother-pupil shout in annoyance. With quick thinking, he threw his keyblade towards an orb and the wall, shattering the wall and both boxes.

 _ **"Whoa!"**_ Eraqus exclaimed as the wall sent glimmers of light firing into the air like fireworks. Xehanort leapt to Eraqus, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and pulling him out of the path of an orb that had shot towards him.

 _ **"Together!"**_ Xehanort told Eraqus.

 _ **"Right!"**_ Eraqus responded, nodding.

The two stood back to back, and threw their keyblades up into the air after creating copy images of them which shot up into the air as well . They then both leapt upwards, grabbing ahold of the other's keyblade and performing a technique to send the keyblade whirling to the ground in a bladestorm, causing all of the many copy images to do the same.

All of the orbs were hit at the same time by the maneuver, without any splitting. Xehanort and Eraqus landed back down on the ground, then handed each other their right keyblades.

 _ **"Good job, Eraqus."**_ Xehanort said, smiling as he patted Eraqus on the shoulder.

Eraqus smiled back, patting Xehanort on the shoulder, too, in return. _**"You too, Xehanort!"**_

Their Master clapped. _**"Wonderful! Perfect, very nicely done, you two. You work well together!"**_

The two bowed to their Master. _**"Thank you, Master!"**_ Eraqus exclaimed, smiling.

 _ **"Now, something a bit more magical, shall we? No keyblades, so put them away."**_ Their Master said.

The two did as instructed, dismissing their keyblades. Their Master summoned more orbs, though this time of darkness. This caught Xehanort's eye - His Master was doing what he had forbidden Xehanort from doing.

 _ **"Master..."**_ Xehanort said.

Their Master's gaze turned to Xehanort. _**"If you're going to say something about the darkness, don't bother, Xehanort. Masters are allowed to use the darkness in a non-violent fashion, such as for a training exercise like this. It is the usage of darkness for actions other than teaching about it's dangers that it is forbidden for. Do you understand?"**_

Xehanort stood silent for a moment, as he looked down at the ground.

 _ **"Do you understand, Xehanort?"**_ His Master repeated.

 _ **"I understand, Master."**_ Xehanort said, disappointed.

 _ **"Now, these orbs are only affected by the light. Thus, you must use light to destroy them completely - Darkness replicates and multiplies if even the smallest scrap of it remains, and so your usage of the light must be powerful enough to completely erase the darkness."**_ He explained, as Xehanort and Eraqus looked toward the orbs. _**"Begin."**_ He said, finishing his statement.

Eraqus used large blasts of light to destroy the dark orbs on his side, while Xehanort looked towards the ones on his. He held up his hand, and began to create an orb of light, which he found hurt him as it grew, which he quickly, silently attributed to his usage of darkness far more than light.

He winced as the orb grew in strength in his hand, and finally, when he no longer could bear the pain, he sent it forward at an orb. It was, unfortunately, not powerful enough, however, and the dark orb regrew itself.

Their Master noticed Xehanort's attempts, and seemed to keep his eye on Xehanort rather than Eraqus, who was still massively succeeding on his side.

Xehanort continued trying to destroy the orbs, but each blast of light simply wasn't strong enough. He huffed in frustration, as he failed each attempt.

 _ **"More, Xehanort."**_ Their Master called out.

Xehanort looked to his Master, whose gaze towards him told him everything he needed to know about what his Master expected of him.

His eyes twitched as he understood he wasn't going to leave this scenario until he'd succeeded at it, and he threw himself around, hands held up and outward to the sides as he faced the dark orbs.

Xehanort's body shook as he formed two orbs of light in his hands, which grew larger and larger. He grunted in pain as they grew beyond his previous' attempts, and finally, when he felt he was about to fall to his knees, he threw his hands together and combined the orbs, launching the very large orb towards all of the dark orbs.

He _did_ succumb to the final large burst of pain as he sent the light sphere forward, falling to the ground. The explosion of light it emitted destroyed all of the orbs on Xehanort's side.

Eraqus rushed to Xehanort, shaking him. Their Master walked forward as Eraqus attempted to wake Xehanort up. The younger pupil then looked up at their Master.

 _ **"He won't wake up!"**_ Eraqus shouted.

Their Master looked down at Xehanort as Eraqus shouted to him. _**"He's alright - Just unconscious. Take him to his room, Eraqus. Put him in his bed to rest."**_

Eraqus seemed a bit unnerved by their Master's lack of empathy for Xehanort's condition, but did as he was ordered.

* * *

Xehanort woke up hours later, noticing Eraqus sitting at his bedside. _**"What happened?"**_

Eraqus stood up and came closer to Xehanort as his older brother-pupil spoke to him. _ **"You completed the task, but... it knocked you out, I guess."**_

Xehanort closed his eyes, sighing. _**"That's why I don't use the light anymore, partially."**_

 _ **"If you use it slowly, maybe it'll get better. I know you can do it, Xehanort."**_ Eraqus said as he took Xehanort's hand to grip it in brotherly compassion.

Xehanort's eyes shot open and he grunted out in pain as Eraqus took his hand, and pulled it back quickly. Eraqus looked a bit confused, until the palms of Xehanort's hands became apparent to him - They had very bad burns on them, which Eraqus realized meant Xehanort's condition in regards to the light must have been far worse than he'd suspected.

 _ **"I can't have these burns here if I'm going to take the Mark of Mastery alongside you, Eraqus."**_ Xehanort said.

Eraqus quickly nodded _ **. "I can find some herbal salve, or-"**_

Xehanort shook his head, looking towards Eraqus. _**"I need them healed now. I know how to heal them."**_

Eraqus rose a brow. _**"How?"**_

Xehanort let out a very brief, unamused chuckle. _**"I think you know how, Eraqus."**_

Eraqus did, indeed, know what Xehanort was going to do to heal his hands - He was going to use the darkness. _**"We're not allowed to do that, Xehanort."**_ He said sadly.

 _ **"It'll heal my burns immediately, Eraqus. I could wait until you leave, to do it without you knowing, but I want you to see this."**_ Xehanort replied.

A look of major conflict formed on Eraqus' face. He knew it was forbidden, but he wanted Xehanort's wounds healed. He sighed deeply, and nodded slowly. _**"Do it, I guess."**_

Xehanort smiled slightly, and a dark glow formed on his burns. They lasted for several moments, as Xehanort sighed in relief. As the dark glow faded, the burns were no longer there.

Eraqus watched silently, but spoke after the deed was done. _**"Light can heal us, too."**_

Xehanort's smile turned to that of disappointment. _**"Light can't heal burns it causes, itself. I want you to understand what our Master won't let us, for whatever reason - Dark, light... they're both opposite sides of the same element."**_

 _ **"Darkness corrupts. The light is pure."**_ Eraqus simply stated.

Xehanort looked Eraqus straight in the eyes. _**"Am I corrupt, when I've done nothing wrong? Is the light so pure when it harms me?"**_

Eraqus looked like he had a million words to say to Xehanort, but each time he seemed like he was going to speak them, he stayed silent. He couldn't argue with Xehanort, and he decided not to try in the first place.

"I'll see you later, Xehanort." Eraqus said, as he simply walked out of Xehanort's room, closing the door behind him.

Disappointment welled up in masses, within Xehanort. He threw his head back, keeping it against his pillow as he closed his eyes. He just wanted someone to understand, but no one around him seemed to be able to do so, nor even seemed to want to try.

As he fell asleep, two yellow eyes watched him from a dark corner in his room. Something around him _did_ understand, it seemed.


	5. Day 5

Xehanort's Master woke him up this morning, as well. Xehanort noticed it was still dark out, as it had been the day before when his Master woke him up.

 _ **"Master."**_ He said, as he sat up in bed.

 _ **"I would've had you and Eraqus taking the Mark today, but I want you both to understand something about the darkness."**_ His Master explained.

 _ **"Something you want me to understand, you mean, Master. I know I'm the only one between me and Eraqus you have concerns about."**_ Xehanort replied.

His Master looked at him in disappointment, but finally nodded. _**"You deserve more credit than I give you, Xehanort. Yes, it's something I want you to understand, but it won't hurt to have Eraqus see it, too."**_

 _ **"See what?"**_ Xehanort asked.

Motioning for Xehanort to follow him, the Master began to walk out of Xehanort's room _ **. "Come with me, you'll see."**_

Xehanort followed his Master, meeting up with Eraqus in the hallway. His brother-pupil seemed to not have much to say to him, which Xehanort understood.

He didn't blame Eraqus for being conflicted. Their Master was a very wise man, and for someone like Eraqus, belief in such a man as his mentor and father-figure was hard to shake, but Xehanort had shaken Eraqus' belief, even if only to a small degree.

They exited the castle, where their Master summoned his keyblade and opened a portal. _ **"Go through that."**_ He ordered of them.

The two nodded, and they entered the portal. They arrived on the other side, into a desert wasteland. Around them must have been thousands of keyblades, though they were dead keyblades, it seemed, without any keychains.

Xehanort was intrigued. He and Eraqus had never seen this place before, though he understood it had to be of massive significance if so many keyblades were laid to rest here.

 _ **"This is the Keyblade Graveyard."**_ Their Master said dryly.

They looked towards him. _**"Keyblade... Graveyard?"**_ Eraqus asked, confused.

The Master walked past them, then turned to face them after stopping _ **. "Graveyard, yes. No one but a Keyblade Master is allowed to be here, but as the lord of the Land of Departure, I deem it necessary to show you both before you take the Mark of Mastery."**_

 _ **"What happened here?"**_ Xehanort asked.

 _ **"The Keyblade War."**_ He replied. _**"It was a massive conflict that occurred long ago, here, in this place."**_

Both apprentices' interest were piqued. _**"What happened?"**_ Eraqus asked.

 _ **"Long ago, Kingdom Hearts, the heart of what was then one single, unified world, gave light to the world and it's people. The darkness in the hearts of some pushed them to covet the light, and they tried to seize it for themselves. A war of darkness versus light broke out, with the light defending Kingdom Hearts, and the dark attempting to take it for their own."**_ The Master explained.

 _ **"How could darkness lead one to covet light?"**_ Xehanort asked.

Their Master looked at Xehanort, unamused. _**"It was the power of the light they coveted. Darkness leads every man and woman who nurture it within them to greed and obsession."**_

Xehanort huffed, while Eraqus, instead, seemed captivated by their Master's history lesson.

 _ **"The forces of darkness sought to control Kingdom Hearts,"**_ Their Master continued, _**"by seizing control of an artifact known as the**_ _ **χ-blade**_ _ **, which was a weapon that existed alongside Kingdom Hearts, as a guardian, of sorts."**_

 _ **"How did it end?"**_ Eraqus asked, curiously.

 _ **"The**_ _ **χ-blade**_ _ **was shattered. With it's guardian gone, Kingdom Hearts disappeared, and the world went into a cataclysm that separated it into the many worlds we know of today."**_ The Master responded. _**"Do you understand? Why darkness is so dangerous, why it must not be used?"**_

Eraqus nodded quickly, while Xehanort simply looked at their Master.

 _ **"Do you understand me, Xehanort? Please, I beg of you to understand what I am trying to teach you."**_ The Master said, returning Xehanort's gaze.

 _ **"You can't blame a neutral element for it's misuse at the hands of people."**_ Xehanort simply replied.

Their Master looked very disappointed. _**"You're too philosophical for your own good, Xehanort. I am not trying to be an oppressor to you by teaching and telling you these things, I am trying to help you."**_

Xehanort chose not to reply, instead looking around at the dead keyblades. Their Master sighed at the silence, and opened the portal to return them to the Land of Departure.

Eraqus went in first, with their Master going in second. Xehanort walked towards the portal, taking a final look back, then crossing over.

As they emerged in the Land of Departure, it was now beginning to barely light up. Xehanort looked foward as Eraqus and their Master neared the castle, though Eraqus stopped at the door after their Master entered.

Xehanort slowly walked to the door, where Eraqus looked at him.

 _ **"Xehanort,"**_ Eraqus said, _**"You can't tell me you still think using the darkness is okay. We both just saw what it did to that place, to all those keyblade wielders! Doesn't that scare you?"**_

Xehanort shook his head. _**"Eraqus, it's like I told our Master. Darkness is an element, a neutral one. Something as natural and primordial as darkness couldn't be a malevolent corrupting force anymore than the light could."**_

 _ **"Then how could it do that? How could it end up being the downfall of so many other keyblade wielders?"**_ Eraqus asked.

 _ **"The same way the light was able to burn my hands, yesterday."**_ Xehanort simply replied.

Eraqus looked a bit sad. _**"Xehanort, our Master knows what he's talking about-"**_

 _ **"Does he, Eraqus? Do you really think he understands the darkness if he's never used it for any other reason than to 'teach' people?"**_ Xehanort asked, looking Eraqus in the eyes.

 _ **"How do you know he's never used it for any other reason?"**_ Eraqus inquired.

 _ **"Because he would've told us about it, and why he stopped. Wouldn't that be a good lesson to teach us if it had happened? All I've seen is the light harm me because I use a different element, but I'm not going to war with the light over it."**_ Xehanort explained.

Eraqus understood, in his mind, but he didn't want to end up having to choose a side in the battle of wits between his brother-pupil and his Master. _**"I won't tell the Master if you use it, but I won't encourage you to use it, and I won't like you using it."**_

 _ **"Do you understand, then, what I'm saying?"**_ Xehanort asked, believing himself to be getting somewhere.

 _ **"I understand what element you want to use, even if I disagree with it. And you have to understand, I know what element I want to use, even if you disagree with it."**_ Eraqus replied, a serious look draped across his face.

Xehanort nodded slowly. This wasn't a huge achievement, but he believed it to be an achievement nonetheless. _**"I do understand. You won't hear a challenge from me over it, I can assure you of that."**_

Eraqus nodded silently, and began to walk into the castle.

 _ **"And Eraqus..."**_ Xehanort said. Eraqus looked over his shoulder towards Xehanort, who continued, _**"...Thank you for letting your mind be open."**_

Eraqus nodded once more, and went into the castle. Xehanort stayed outside, and walked to the edge of a cliff. He looked into the distance, at the lightening sky around him, and the environment below.

Slowly, the dark fog he'd seen before manifested in the air in front of him, off of the cliff. Xehanort looked towards it, and though he felt an instinctual inner call to back up, he refused to do so, and simply looked on at the fog.

Two bright, glowing yellow eyes appeared in the fog, looking straight at Xehanort. Xehanort, in turn, acknowledged them, though he was unsure what they were. He realized whatever it was, however, was watching him this whole time.

He wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what to say, or if it would even understand or could hear. He simply looked into the fog as the eyes began fading, and eventually the fog disappeared.

Xehanort walked away, going into the castle without taking a look back as he often did. He knew whatever this was had ties to the darkness, and it had taken an interest in him.

Perhaps, he pondered as he went about his day as usual, it wasn't something with ties to the darkness. That night, as he laid in bed, soon about to fall asleep, he thought of one final possibility for the day.

Perhaps, he thought, it _was_ the darkness.


	6. Day 6

Xehanort got up himself, that morning. He exited his room, and made his way to the main room, where the three thrones sat in the back.

He remembered the armored man in the dive he made into his heart, and the pupils under him that practiced with both light and dark.

If he had that seat, he thought, he could be that man, and bring balance. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by his Master.

 _ **"Taking a look at the thrones, Xehanort?"**_ He asked, walking to his pupil's side. _**"They are more than just a seat for a leader of the Land of Departure. They're seats made for those who are willing to defend the worlds at all costs."**_

 _ **"And how do we defend the worlds, Master? How would you have us continue to do so, even if we become Masters? How did you do so, when you were in mine and Eraqus' positions, under a master of your own?"**_ Xehanort asked, looking to his mentor beside him.

 _ **"My Master? Hm. Have I ever told you about my Master? You or Eraqus?"**_ He inquired.

Xehanort thought for a moment, and realized he'd never heard a word of it. _**"No, actually. Now that you mention it, you haven't, Master."**_

He nodded at Xehanort's realization. _**"It is the reason I abhor the darkness, you see."**_

This caught Xehanort's full attention. _**"What?"**_

The Master pointed at the throne on the far left. _**"I sat there, on the left. My brother-pupil sat on the right, and our Master sat in the middle."**_

Xehanort raised a brow. _**"There was another? Besides you?"**_

 _ **"Of course."**_ He nodded. _ **"Keyblade Masters prefer to take two apprentices, in cases where one possibly fails. My Master was very wise, and had such knowledge... knowledge of the worlds, knowledge of the light... knowledge of the dark."**_

Xehanort listened intently, choosing not to speak.

 _ **"He was so interested in the darkness,"**_ The Master said, _**"that he seemed to devote his entire life to it. Even his keyblade spoke of his alignment - Some ancient sort of keyblade, from the realm of darkness. Fate had chosen him, he said, to be it's next wielder."**_

 _ **"So keyblades aren't just from the realm of light..."**_ Xehanort said to himself absent-mindedly.

The Master nodded. _**"It's true, there are some, while only a few, that come from the realm of darkness. Me, you, and Eraqus have all been blessed, even if only to not be cursed by having to bear one."**_

 _ **"I don't know if I'd call it a curse."**_ Xehanort said.

 _ **"I would. My Master was so enamored with the darkness, and my brother-pupil followed his obsession. One day, after we both became masters, my Master told us that since we were now masters ourselves, we were prepared to help him."**_ He explained.

 _ **"Help him with what?"**_ Xehanort asked, his curiosity rising every second.

 _ **"Help him snuff out the light, and let darkness rule entirely."**_

Xehanort nodded slowly. Things started to piece together in Xehanort's mind, and he smirked. _**"Your Master, apologies for saying such, was a fool, then. It's not about one side winning or losing... it's about keeping a balance of the two."**_

 _ **"I don't agree that darkness has any place in the worlds at all, but I am glad you do not believe it should be the sole element at rule. As for my Master... he was a fool, looking back at it, you're right. I refused to help him, and he called me a traitor. I had to fight for my life, and... I had to end my brother-pupil and Master's lives in the process."**_ He recounted, a look of sadness spreading across his face.

This was it, Xehanort realized. This was why his Master hated the darkness, so. Why he was so concerned with Xehanort's usage of it - He was worried that he would have to end Xehanort, as well. He was afraid.

 _ **"I'm sorry, Master. I truly am."**_ Xehanort said, placing his hand on his Master's shoulder.

 _ **"I inherited leadership as the last Master in the Land of Departure, and pondered things for a long while, reading and researching... and then, when I felt I knew enough, I found Eraqus, and then you."**_ He explained, placing his hand on Xehanort's shoulder in return.

 _ **"Just realize, Master. You refused to take part in a crusade against the element you used, and I will refuse any attempt of yours to make me take part in a crusade against the element I use."**_ Xehanort told his Master, looking at him.

The Master nodded. _**"The darkness must be held back, Xehanort, but I won't force you into a position where you feel you have to make the decision I made years ago."**_

 _ **"I appreciate that, Master. If all you're going to do is hold the darkness back, Eraqus can easily be the only assistance you need."**_ Xehanort said.

The Master smiled, his heart warmed by Xehanort's belief in his brother-pupil. _**"And what would you do while we hold it back?"**_

 _ **"Find a solution that doesn't involve limiting either side."**_ Xehanort replied simply.

His Master nodded slowly. _**"You want a balance, like you say the worlds should have. That would put you at odds with us, at some point."**_

 _ **"Perhaps. But you and Eraqus, I'd like to think are reasonable people. I would hope that we could work out a compromise that benefits all worlds."**_ He explained, taking his hand off of his Master's shoulder.

 _ **"Just remember that the darkness doesn't listen to anyone. It lets others listen to it, and either draws them in, using them as vessels and pawns, or destroys them outright... but you will see what I mean soon. Right now, our debate could go on for hours and hours, days even without an end. It's time for you, and Eraqus, to take your Mark of Mastery exam."**_ The Master said, taking his hand off of Xehanort's shoulder, as well.

Xehanort was confused by his Master's suggestion that he would "see soon", but ultimately disregarded it and smiled at the mention of the Mark of Mastery. _**"Shall I get Eraqus, then?"**_ He asked.

 _ **"Indeed, you shall."**_

Xehanort nodded, and rushed to Eraqus' room. He woke him up, and they returned to the main hall, proceeding to follow their Master out of the castle, afterwards.

They went to a small island, floating in the air magically, and made their way to it's middle. The Master summoned his keyblade, and fired a blast of darkness into the ground in front of him. _**"Back up."**_ He said, as he did so himself.

Eraqus and Xehanort did so as well, and watched as the blast turned into a large portal on the ground. A large, shadowy hand emerged from the portal, grabbing onto the ground and pulling itself up.

The owner of the hand made itself known - A large, dark creature, with a scarf-like mass of tentacles covering it's mouth if it had one, and several writhing tentacles attached to it's head. It had a large, heart-shaped hole in it's chest, small wings on it's back, and glowing yellow eyes.

Xehanort recognized this as the same kind of creature that had been following him, though it had hidden itself in that darkened fog.

 _ **"This is a Heartless, the very embodiment of darkness itself. Defeat it! Defeat it, or it will destroy you without a thought!"**_ Their Master shouted.

Eraqus and Xehanort summoned their keyblades, and rushed at it. The monster swiped at them with it's left arm, which they rolled to avoid.

Eraqus leapt upwards, towards it's face, only to be grabbed by it mid-air. Xehanort leapt at it's arm and swung his keyblade, freeing Eraqus from it's grasp.

Xehanort then grabbed Eraqus by the shirt, and helped propel him towards the beast's face. Eraqus swung his keyblade at it, slicing at it's head.

The monster groaned out with a warped sound, as Eraqus and Xehanort landed on the ground. Eraqus flipped his grip on his keyblade so he held it backwards, and began summoning a light from his keyblade.

Xehanort leapt up onto it's shoulder, swinging his keyblade at it repeatedly and dodging it's swipes. Eraqus then sliced forward with his keyblade, sending a chain of light out that wrapped around the creature's legs.

With a forceful pull, the creature's legs were pulled together, and it fell to the ground. Xehanort rushed at it, but it blasted him with darkness from it's eyes, and he flew backwards, nearly being knocked over the edge, but holding onto the edge and attempting to pull himself back up onto the island.

Eraqus then rushed at it, but it fired a large beam of energy from an orb in the middle of it's heart-shaped hole. Eraqus was immobilized by the beam, and lifted into the air, helpless and unable to break free.

Their Master summoned his keyblade and prepared to enter the fray if need be, but Xehanort rushed in, instead, having pulled himself back up onto the island. He made several attacks on the creature, but nothing worked.

Eraqus yelled out in pain as the dark bindings around him tightened, squeezing him in an attempt to outright kill him.

Left with little time to act, Xehanort noticed the dark orb residing within the creature. He pointed his keyblade at it, and fired a beam of darkness into it.

 _ **"Xehanort!"**_ Their Master yelled out as his eyes widened.

Xehanort's darkness, however, overpowered the creature's, and the beam that it was using to immobilize Eraqus disappeared. Eraqus dropped to the floor, making a hard landing and falling unconscious.

Ceasing his usage of the dark beam, Xehanort rushed to Eraqus, kneeling down to see if he was okay. The creature picked itself up in the mean time, and their Master began summoning a light within his own keyblade.

Xehanort stood up and faced the monster after he made sure Eraqus was alright, even if unconscious. He looked towards the beast, with no action being made by either until Xehanort pointed his keyblade at the creature. _**"Go back to where you came from."**_ He demanded, looking the monster fearlessly in the eyes.

To their Master's shock, the creature began sinking back into the dark portal. Before it disappeared, it pointed towards Xehanort, though said nothing.

The dark portal faded away, and Xehanort walked over to where it had been, standing triumphantly. When he ensured the portal was gone, he rushed back to Eraqus, picking him up.

Their Master simply stood there, in astonishment. He had never seen anyone command the darkness in such a way.

 _ **"I'm taking Eraqus to his room, whatever decision you have to make can wait."**_ Xehanort told his Master. He then departed from the island with Eraqus, doing as he said he would.

Their Master walked over to where the portal had been, and looked around. This was disturbing to him, and affected him to the point of deciding to delay his decision on his pupils' possible mastery until the next day.

He had much to think of, in the mean time.


	7. Day 7

Xehanort had slept in Eraqus' room that night, having decided to stay with him until he woke up. He woke up when he felt a hand place itself upon his shoulder. Looking up from the chair he had slept in, he saw Eraqus, smiling at him.

 _ **"Good... you're alright."**_ Xehanort said, sighing with relief and smiling in return.

Eraqus nodded. _**"Thanks to you, Xehanort. You had to have saved my life."**_

 _ **"You wouldn't assume it was our Master?"**_ He asked, chuckling.

Eraqus took his hand off of Xehanort's shoulder. _**"I would assume it was the only other person fighting alongside me at that point."**_

Xehanort stood up, yawning and stretching his arms. _**"I only did what you would have done for me."**_

"And here you are in my room, doing what I did for you days ago." Eraqus replied.

 _ **"That's what a brother does."**_ Xehanort said.

The two smiled at each other once more, and left Eraqus' room. They made their way to the main hall after figuring that would be where their Master would announce his decision. They sat against a wall, talking about the past, reminiscing on things they'd gone through together as apprentices.

 _ **"I don't care what happens, Xehanort, you've definitely got the skills and the heart of a Master, in my opinion."**_ Eraqus said.

 _ **"And you've got the bravery and heart of one, too, even if you're not made one."**_ Xehanort replied.

 _ **"Hey now, what about my skills? I complimented you on yours!"**_ Eraqus asked playfully.

 _ **"Well,"**_ Xehanort said, leaning his head to the left, _**"You've got all the time in the world to work on your skills."**_ He finished, bursting out laughing.

Eraqus, too, began laughing with Xehanort. They ceased their conversation and merriness, however, when their Master walked into the room. They stood up, and bowed as he passed by and proceeded to sit on his throne.

 _ **"Present yourselves before me, Eraqus and Xehanort."**_ He called out.

The two did so, standing side by side in front of him, though several feet away.

 _ **"You have both served for many years as apprentices, visiting other worlds, learning to wield the keyblade, and learning about yourselves in the process. You both stand here on the precipice, with skills shown and hearts open to those around you. I have decided what your Mark of Mastery exam showed me, and I have made my decision."**_

Silence ensued for a moment, before their Master called out again. _**"Apprentice Eraqus, step forward."**_

Eraqus did so, standing up straight in front of his Master.

 _ **"Eraqus, your Mark of Mastery showed that your skills in fighting are in need of improvement."**_

Eraqus looked down silently at this declaration.

 _ **"But your heart is strong, and your courage unending. Your strength of heart led you to disregard your skill or lack thereof, and confront the darkness itself, alone. You have proven yourself to be a good person, and a dedicated guardian, and for this, I declare that you are now a Keyblade Master."**_

Eraqus quickly looked up, eyes wide, and face filled with joy. Xehanort smiled widely as well, looking towards Eraqus.

 _ **"Raise your Keyblade, Master Eraqus."**_

Eraqus nodded, and did so. He held his keyblade up in the air, looking towards his Master.

The Master summoned his own keyblade _ **. "No longer will you wield the keyblade of an apprentice. As the wielder of the Master Keeper, and lord of the Land of Departure, I bestow upon you a keyblade worthy of a Master!"**_ He declared, firing a beam of light towards Eraqus' keyblade.

Eraqus' keyblade was hidden from view, and then, when revealed, was changed, having become a bit longer, and having a bit more detail to it than before. As the light from the Master Keeper faded, a light instead stayed around Eraqus' keyblade, illuminating it. Eraqus lowered his keyblade, and bowed.

 _ **"Thank you, Master. I will not let you down, and I will not fail the worlds!"**_ He exclaimed, walking back to Xehanort's side afterwards.

 _ **"Apprentice Xehanort, step forward."**_ The Master called.

Xehanort stepped forward as ordered, and looked towards his Master.

 _ **"Xehanort, your Mark of Mastery showed that you have a colossal power within you."**_

Eraqus grinned widely as he heard his Master's words towards Xehanort, as a smile also began to form on Xehanort's face.

 _ **"...But your use of the darkness was disturbing to me, not simply because you used it. A heartless is the very embodiment of darkness, it is the most pure and powerful manifestation of darkness that is possible. To have a darkness within you that can overpower such a being... it is very unsettling."**_

Upon hearing this, Eraqus' smile went away, as did Xehanort's. Xehanort was a bit taken aback, though he realized he should have expected this. _**"I... Understand, Master. I will try to improve myself and-"**_

 _ **"Regardless,"**_ His Master interrupted, _**"You showed you have power within you, and you showed the same courage and strength of heart that Eraqus did, in choosing to stand defiantly against your enemy, even in the face of possible defeat. While your powerful usage of darkness is massively concerning to me, I cannot possibly deny that you have the skills and heart of a Master. Therefore, I declare that you are now, from this day forward, a Keyblade Master."**_

Eraqus couldn't help but cheer as he heard his Master's decision for his brother-pupil. Xehanort looked a bit dumbfounded, he was certain he was going to be passed aside, but he was wrong. He smiled as he realized that he had suceeded, his training had paid off, and he was now a Master.

 _ **"Raise your keyblade, Master Xehanort."**_ The Master called.

Xehanort did so, and as with Eraqus' keyblade, the Master used the Master Keeper to transform Xehanort's keyblade.

The light from the Master Keeper hid the changes of Xehanort's keyblade, until after it faded. As the light faded from Xehanort's keyblade, a dark aura emerged around it. It was a black and silver-grey keyblade, with the same blue eye in parts of it that Xehanort had seen in the dive into his heart.

Their Master's eyes widened as he quietly murmured to himself in disbelief. _**"That keyblade... this can't be possible."**_

Eraqus didn't understand the significance, and his happiness did not fade. Xehanort didn't entirely understand it, either, though he recognized the eye.

Xehanort lowered his new keyblade, holding it at his side. _**"Thank you, Master. I won't fail you, or Eraqus, or the worlds, I promise you. I swear it, you will not be disappointed."**_

Xehanort then walked back to Eraqus, the two new masters hugging each other.

 _ **"Master Eraqus, I need to speak with you alone."**_ The Master called out.

Eraqus nodded, and looked to Xehanort.

 _ **"Go ahead, we can meet up later."**_ Xehanort told him, as he walked away.

Eraqus approached the Master, and bowed. _**"What is it, Master?"**_

 _ **"Eraqus, I am declaring you my successor for the position of lord of the Land of Departure, and future wielder of the Master Keeper."**_ The Master explained.

Eraqus looked very confused. _**"But... why? Xehanort is a master, too, and he's far wiser, and more powerful than I am. He would be a much better choice."**_

With ragged, worried eyes, the Master spoke in a fearful tone. _**"That's the problem, Eraqus... I believe I have just made a monumental mistake in making Xehanort a Master."**_


	8. Interlude - Xehanort Report

_"I am Master Xehanort._

 _As a newly-appointed Keyblade Master, I believe it is only reasonable that I keep a collection of my thoughts and opinions, and have my past, present, and future recorded, to ensure that any keyblade wielders that are to come after me will have yet another written work available to them in the libraries of the Land of Departure, with which to better learn and grow._

 _We live in worlds of darkness and light, though here, in the time I live in, light has overtaken the dark. I was taught that we are to suppress the darkness, but that is not reasonable to do._

 _These worlds would simply not be at all, if either darkness or light did not exist. Wiping out one leads to the destruction of the other, and so a balance must be kept, in order to prevent one from overtaking the other at any time._

 _Promoted as I am, I now am my own Master, and can make decisions that extend beyond what I am ordered to do. This balance that must be sought after, there is no one but myself willing to pursue it, and so I take on the burden of balancing light and dark._

 _While there are others out there that work to suppress the darkness, I cannot simply make it grow. If there is a suppression of darkness on-going, then there must also be a suppression of light - I, Xehanort, take on the duty of being the light's limiter._

 _I will do as I must across the worlds, to ensure that any light that overtakes dark is suppressed, to allow the balance that must exist to come into play. I will do what I must to protect the worlds, as all keyblade wielders strive to do._

 _But even if I succeed, there will be a time when I am no more. To those who live in that time, remember that balance must be maintained, and to do so, you must always be active in keeping that balance once it is achieved, limiting darkness and light until a time can come where differences in keyblade wielders' alignments do not matter, and both light and dark can grow limitlessly alongside each other, naturally balancing themselves._

 _My task begins soon. I take it on of my own accord, and request to those who come after me to uphold our mission as keyblade wielders."_

 **Signed,**  
 _ **Master Xehanort**_


	9. Day 8

Xehanort woke up bright and early, that morning. He had fallen asleep at his desk, shortly after he finished his first journal entry.

He left his room, and met Eraqus in the hallway, with both greeting each other with a hug.

 _ **"We didn't talk after our promotions, Eraqus, I apologize. I was writing some things down, and I fell asleep afterwards."**_ Xehanort explained.

 _ **"It's fine!"**_ Eraqus said, smiling. _**"I'm headed to the library - The Master wants me to go through some books in the Library of the Masters."**_

 _ **"Oh, that's right, isn't it? We have access to that archive, now. I will have to go through the books there sometime, to see if there is anything of interest."**_ Xehanort replied.

The two began walking towards the library, side by side.

 _ **"It's a hidden entrance behind one of the bookshelves."**_ Eraqus explained of the Library of the Masters' entrance.

 _ **"I know the one. I wondered why that bookshelf moved."**_ He noted, chuckling.

Eraqus chuckled along with Xehanort. _**"So where are you going, if you're not checking out the library right away?"**_

 _ **"I wanted to go outside,"**_ Xehanort explained, _**"and visit the oasis we prepared at."**_

Nodding, Eraqus stopped as they reached the library entrance. _**"Being a master, I guess you need all the insight you can get, and that place seems as good as any. Good luck with meditating, or anything else you do there, Xehanort!"**_ Eraqus said, patting Xehanort on the shoulder.

Xehanort smiled in return, and left the castle as Eraqus went into the library. He made his way to the oasis, where he looked at the pond while circling it.

He stopped after reaching the opposite side, standing on the edge of the pond. He looked into the waters, but made sure to not get lost in his heart again. He thought about several things, for a few moments, before he felt something behind him.

Turning around, Xehanort found himself face-to-face with the dark fog, complete with the two glowing eyes.

 _ **"That's what you are, aren't you?"**_ Xehanort asked it. _**"You're a heartless. I don't think you're the one we fought, though."**_

The fog grew larger, and from it, a heartless that was about the size of Xehanort emerged. It had two tentacles coming from it's head, almost like long ears. It had no legs, instead having a wisp-like tail in legs' place, as it floated in mid-air.

It had straps of some sort around it's chest, as well as it's head and mouth. In the middle of it was a heart-shaped hole, just as the other heartless had on it.

 _ **"You understand what I intend to do, don't you?"**_ Xehanort asked it. _**"You understand I'm on your side."**_

The heartless simply looked at him, though it's inaction told Xehanort enough. _**"You've been watching me a while, haven't you? My own personal dark guardian, I suppose. But how long have you and your kind been deprived of a guardian of your own?"**_

The heartless floated back a bit, and created a portal in-between them, made of darkness.

 _ **"You want me to go in? Is your home on the other side?"**_ Xehanort asked.

The heartless simply pointed at the portal in response, and then went through. Xehanort took that as a yes, and stepped into the portal as well.

He ended up on a beach of some sort. The water was dark, and the sky was an eternal night, it seemed. He walked up to the heartless as it looked out over the water, standing next to it and looking out at the shadowy sea as well, crossing his arms.

 _ **"This is quite a realm, but it's so empty."**_ Xehanort noted. _**"You want more than just an empty sea as your home, don't you? That's what I want for the worlds. The realm I live in is your home as much as it is mine - You and your kind are the manifestation of a natural element that keeps the worlds alive. It's only right you should be allowed to live on them."**_

The heartless looked at Xehanort, and gave a very slight nod. It seemed to simply be incapable of speech, be it verbal or telepathic.

Xehanort stayed silent for a moment, before his curiosity rose. _**"Why me? Certainly there must be others that you've wanted help from."**_

The heartless pointed towards Xehanort's right hand, at which point his new keyblade appeared without Xehanort summoning it.

Xehanort held it up, and looked at it. _**"My keyblade? What about it?"**_

The heartless looked at the blue eye embedded in the top of the keyblade. It glowed, which Xehanort noticed.

 _ **"This eye, it's... the eye I saw in my vision. The eye that watched over the dying Land of Departure. You don't want me to destroy the Land of Departure, do you? I won't do that."**_ He said.

The heartless looked at him, and it's inaction against suggested it's wishes to Xehanort, of which he assumed did not include the destruction of the Land of Departure. _**"What is it about this keyblade, then? I've heard of keyblades from the realm of darkness, is this one?"**_

The keyblade glowed with a dark aura, which Xehanort took note of. _**"I've never heard of any specific keyblades from the realm of darkn-Wait. Wait, no that's not true, I have. My Master told me about his Master, and how he had an ancient keyblade that had chosen him. Is this that keyblade?"**_

The heartless nodded slightly. Xehanort nodded slowly in response, as well. _**"You chose me, because this keyblade chose me. I have a duty to the worlds to keep them safe, which I plan on doing, and my plan for doing that will not conflict with keeping you and your kind safe. If you have chosen me, I assure you, you have chosen well."**_

The heartless created a portal in front of them, which Xehanort assumed was the way home. He dismissed his keyblade, and looked at the heartless.

 _ **"I'll be your champion. I'll help you and your kind regain your rightful place among the worlds."**_

Xehanort then stepped through the portal, as the heartless stayed behind. He emerged in the library, which was convenient, as he had even more reason to search the Library of the Masters.

Perhaps he could find out more about the heartless. If he was going to be the defender of the darkness, he should know more about it beyond what he already learned as an apprentice.

He eventually retired to his room later that night with several dozen books - A shame, he thought, that he couldn't bring all of them... but there were simply too many.


	10. Day 9

Xehanort hadn't slept at all that night. He'd been far too busy going over books, reading about darkness and it's place in the worlds since the Keyblade War.

While he was entirely prepared to be, as he had written in his first journal entry, the sole limiter of light, he believed that if he could convince his Master and Eraqus to stop limiting the darkness, neither element would need to ever be held back.

He'd gone through six books from mid-day the day before, to the current morning, as light began to illuminate the sky as with every day. Only two books actually gave him anything useful to use in a debate, which he picked up from his desk and brought with him as he walked to the main hall.

As a Master, he could simply leave the Land of Departure and begin his quest to limit the light, but his Master was correct - It would lead him into a conflict with him and Eraqus, someday. If he could convince his Master peacefully, without conflict, perhaps no conflict would ever have the chance to arise.

He entered into the main hall, and looked over. His Master was sitting on the middle throne, with his chin in his hand, propped up on the chair's left armrest.

 _ **"Master,"**_ Xehanort said as he approached, _**"I must speak with you."**_

His Master looked up and nodded. _**"Of course, Xehanort. What is it?"**_

Xehanort handed his Master the two books. _**"Have you read these, Master?"**_ He asked.

His Master accepted the books, and looked at their covers as Xehanort asked his question. _**"'Observations on the Elements', and 'A History of the Keyblade.' I may have read these once, a long time ago. If I did, they didn't terribly interest me."**_ He replied.

Xehanort nodded. _**"After what you said you went through, I'm not surprised, Master. I was looking through them, and I found some passages within them that I believe are of great importance to all of us, as Keyblade Masters."**_

His Master rose a brow. _**"Oh? Go on, explain."**_

 _ **"'A History of the Keyblade' explains that since the Keyblade War, the number of keyblades from the realm of darkness has massively lowered. I have to say, what I've seen thus far makes me believe this."**_ Xehanort explained.

The Master nodded, sighing however. _**"The number of keyblades from the realm of darkness has decreased because the darkness itself has decreased. And what do you mean, what you've seen thus far?"**_

 _ **"My own keyblade, Master. My new one."**_ Xehanort replied quickly.

His Master narrowed his eyes, and sat up straight. _**"And how do you know that your keyblade is a keyblade from the realm of darkness? You've never seen one before."**_

Xehanort didn't wish to lie about his understanding, but knew he could not speak of his meeting with a heartless. He internally compromised with himself, and spoke. _**"Because my heart tells me it is. That's one thing you taught us, to trust our hearts when they tell us something."**_

 _ **"And do you understand how dangerous that is, that your heart told you such, and did not reject the keyblade? A heart of light cannot allow one the usage of a keyblade of darkness."**_ His Master replied.

 _ **"Perhaps my heart isn't entirely light."**_ Xehanort said.

This unsettled his Master. _**"Are you saying you think your heart is darkness?"**_

Xehanort shook his head. _**"No, Master, that wouldn't be possible, not entirely. Without any light in my heart, I couldn't have wielded my old keyblade, as it was a keyblade from the realm of light."**_

His Master sighed, nodding slowly. _**"You do have a point in saying that, Xehanort. But what point are you trying to make, overall? What are you playing at?"**_

 _ **"It's as you said, there are fewer keyblades from the realm of darkness, because there's less darkness. 'Observations on the Elements' takes note of this, and also talks about how the darkness has become far more violent, lashing out and attempting to spread since suppression of it began."**_ Xehanort explained.

 _ **"The darkness has always been violent, it lashes out more and attempts to spread more because it's like a cornered animal."**_ The Master refuted.

Xehanort nodded. _**"True, to a degree, but that particular book has entries dating back to just after the Keyblade War. One of it's first entries was written by someone who took part in the War, and they spoke of how the darkness and light had co-existed peacefully before the War, neither side attempting to destroy the other."**_

 _ **"And the darkness did eventually attempt to destroy the light. That was the entire Keyblade War, Xehanort."**_ His Master responded.

 _ **"The darkness itself never lashed out, though. Surely it would've used the heartless? It was people that used the darkness, not the other way around - That's what that book suggests."**_

His Master stood up from his chair. _**"Are you trying to tell me that the work we keyblade wielders have been doing for countless years, holding back the darkness, has been wrong? That we've only made things worse?"**_

 _ **"Unfortunately, Master, that's precisely what I'm suggesting."**_ Xehanort said, nodding.

For the first time in Xehanort's life, he saw his Master become visibly angered, even if only a bit. _**"We spend years upon years defending the worlds from the darkness, we've saved countless lives in fighting against it, and you want to say that we are the ones at fault? You want to say that we should just let the darkness do as it pleases, wash over all of the worlds, and drag us all down into a shadowy death?"**_

 _ **"Technically, yes."**_ Xehanort simply responded. _**"Though only in regards to the fault. I disagree that the darkness would destroy us all."**_

 _ **"Then you are a fool, Xehanort."**_ His Master replied angrily, sitting back down in his chair.

Xehanort became frustrated at this. He'd presented the evidence, the logic was irrefutable, but yet his Master still refused to listen, and even lashed out verbally at Xehanort over it. _**"Why would you make a fool a Keyblade Master?"**_ Xehanort asked bitterly.

 _ **"We all make mistakes, Xehanort."**_ His Master blurted out, without thinking.

Xehanort became very, very angry. _**"We all make mistakes, do we? Perhaps this was the best mistake you've ever made, then!"**_ He said, walking away in a fury.

His Master then realized what he'd done. _**"Xehanort... Xehanort, wait! Xehanort, come back!"**_ He called out.

It was futile, however. He had already done his damage, and Xehanort refused to turn around and walk back to his Master.

Eraqus entered the room, and smiled at Xehanort, not realizing what had just happened. _**"Hey, Xehanort, how are-"**_

Xehanort interrupted Eraqus' greeting, however, by moving him aside so he could get past him, walking into a hallway.

Eraqus looked very befuddled. This was unlike Xehanort, but something must have caused it. He looked over and saw their Master in his throne, and pieced the possibilities together. Eraqus approached the Master, and bowed.

 _ **"Is Xehanort alright?"**_ He asked. _**"Are you alright?"**_

Slumped back in his throne, the Master sighed deeply. _**"Xehanort's philosophical views may interfere with our duty as keyblade wielders, Eraqus."**_ He explained.

Eraqus raised a brow, though he could see the possibilities as to why. _**"What will you do, then?"**_ He asked.

The Master looked up at him. _**"I have a task for you, Eraqus. One that you cannot tell Xehanort."**_

* * *

Xehanort summoned his keyblade after entering his room. He fired a small blast of darkness into the ground, upon which a portal formed. He walked through the portal, entering into the realm of darkness.

He walked along the beach, watching the waves. _**"My Master is the true fool,"**_ He thought, _ **"or he'd understand that what he's been doing is hurting the worlds."**_

He felt a presence grow behind him, and he stopped. Turning around, he was face to face with the heartless from before.

 _ **"He's hurt you and yours, hasn't he? My fool Master. Him, and all of those like him that came before."**_ Xehanort asked.

The heartless looked towards Xehanort's right hand, in which his keyblade appeared. Xehanort looked at it, as well, and shook his head.

 _ **"I don't want to resort to violence."**_ He spoke.

The heartless then looked upwards. Xehanort joined him in this action, and noticed that every few seconds, a very brief, small spark of light would flash in the darkness above.

Xehanort's eyes widened as he watched this. _**"What?"**_ He asked, looking at the heartless, who returned his gaze. _**"Are you trying to tell me the efforts put forth are affecting even the realm of darkness itself, now?"**_

The heartless looked at him, and though his face was never-changing, Xehanort could sense some sort of feeling in it. Perhaps it was sadness, perhaps anger, perhaps fear. But whatever it was, it was there.

 _ **"I understand you've chosen me, that fate has chosen me, but I do not want to resort to violence."**_ Xehanort explained.

He then was compelled to look upwards once more, and watched the spark flash several more times.

 _ **"Though..." He began, "If I am left with no other choice..."**_

The heartless nodded slowly, as the waves washed ashore, leaving only the sound of a darkened sea for Xehanort to hear.

 _ **"...Then perhaps I will have to fight with more than just words."**_


	11. Day 10

Xehanort began packing some things in his room. He felt that he would not be able to work from the Land of Departure, as his Master would seriously hinder anything he tried to do.

He then heard a knock on the door, and quickly threw his bags underneath his bed. He went to the door, and opened it, greeted by Eraqus.

 _ **"Oh, Eraqus. How are you?"**_ He asked. _**"Come in, come in."**_

Eraqus smiled, and walked into the room after being invited. _**"I'm doing well,"**_ He spoke as he looked around, _**"How are you?"**_

 _ **"I'm doing alright, I suppose. A bit tired, but I can push through it."**_ Xehanort replied.

Eraqus nodded in return, looking at Xehanort's belongings scattered across the room, on shelves and desks. _**"I'm glad. Listen, Xehanort..."**_ He said slowly, as he placed his hand on the wall. _**"I want to ask you, you and our Master, you're not going to end up at each other's throats, are you?"**_

Xehanort raised a brow. _**"What do you mean?"**_

 _ **"I mean,"**_ Eraqus said as he turned to look at Xehanort, _**"you and our Master aren't going to end up killing each other. Right?"**_

 _ **"I don't want to kill anyone."**_ Xehanort said.

 _ **"That doesn't really answer my question."**_ Eraqus replied quickly.

Xehanort sighed. _**"Our Master is misguided, Eraqus. I don't want to ever have to fight him, but I don't get to decide if I'm going to have to fight him, he does."**_

Eraqus nodded slowly. _**"You wouldn't kill him, would you? Even if he tried to kill you?"**_

 _ **"I'd defend myself as best I can without hurting anyone. But if I'm left with no choice in order to save myself, then I'm left with no choice."**_ Xehanort explained.

 _ **"I'm caught in the middle, in all of this, Xehanort. I don't want to pick a side, you both mean so much to me."**_ Eraqus told him, sighing sadly.

Xehanort placed his hand on Eraqus' shoulder. _**"You're lucky in his regard. Without a place of your own in the debate between me and our Master, you will never be forced to pick a side if you don't want to do so."**_

Eraqus looked at Xehanort, face to face. _**"I hope you're right."**_

 _ **"I know I'm right, Eraqus. But you have to realize it's right, too, or you'll be deprived of your freedom by manipulation."**_ Xehanort told him.

Eraqus nodded once more. _**"Hopefully things can end peacefully."**_ He said, turning and walking foward towards the door, as Xehanort lowered his hand back to his side.

 _ **"Maybe I'll see you later, Eraqus."**_ Xehanort spoke.

 _ **"Hopefully."**_ Eraqus replied, leaving and shutting the door behind him.

Xehanort sighed deeply, walking to the door and locking it, before he summoned a portal. He went into it, as a small orb of light on the wall that he hadn't noticed watch him depart.

* * *

Eraqus used the orb from the other side of the door, to unlock it and open it. He went into Xehanort's room, though the portal was gone. He wondered where Xehanort was going, but he could find out later.

He went through bookshelves and desk drawers, looking for something. He noticed a bag slightly sticking out from under the bed, and pulled both of the bags underneath it out, opening them and discovering their contents. He quickly scrambled through nearby desks, looking tirelessly, until he found a journal.

He opened it, and read the entries - Talk of bringing balance, talk of limiting light, talk of being chosen by the darkness. Eraqus' heart sunk - He believed his friend had given himself to darkness.

Eraqus took the journal with him, and rushed to meet with his Master.

* * *

Xehanort emerged from the portal into the realm of darkness, where he was greeted by the heartless.

 _ **"Whatever happens, if I have to fight anyone, don't push me to fight Eraqus, I beg of you."**_ Xehanort said to the heartless.

It simply stared at him, and Xehanort sighed. _**"My Master's a fool, but Eraqus isn't. He understand more than our Master does, and he shouldn't be pulled into any conflict that happens. Please, tell me, somehow, in any way you can... that Eraqus won't get hurt in all of this."**_

The heartless lowered it's head, which alarmed Xehanort.

 _ **"Don't you dare make me do that!"**_ Xehanort shouted.

The heartless then raised it's head up, looking at the darkness above, the spark still flashing. Xehanort looked at it, too, and then a look of sadness covered his face.

 _ **"But you wouldn't be making me do it, would you? You only chose me because fate chose me. I can't fight fate, can I?"**_ Xehanort asked it.

The heartless floated towards the shore, and watched the waves. Xehanort walked up next to it, standing beside it.

 _ **"No one can fight fate, can they? Not even you and your kind. That's why you're here, I suppose."**_ Xehanort spoke somberly. _**"I'm sorry."**_

The heartless looked at Xehanort, and nodded slightly.

 _ **"Am I going to have to give everything?"**_ Xehanort asked.

The heartless looked away. Xehanort wasn't sure how to interpret this movement's meaning, and so he just nodded slowly, and placed his hand on the heartless' right shoulder. A dark glow covered his hand, but did not spread across him.

 _ **"When all of this is finished, when my task is complete..."**_ Xehanort said, _**"...remember that I did this for all of you. Remember what I gave and sacrificed to give you and yours balance."**_

Turning it's head to look at Xehanort, it stared at him for a moment, before finally giving a nod.

* * *

Eraqus arrived at his Master's throne, where the man himself was seated.

 _ **"Master,"**_ Eraqus spoke, _**"I found something."**_

The Master sat up straight, nodding at Eraqus' words. "Hand it over, let me see."

Eraqus nodded in turn, and handed over the journal. The Master opened it, and read it intently, eyes narrowing. _**"It's Xehanort's journal. I found it in his room."**_ Eraqus said.

 _ **"He seeks to limit the light? To actively hinder our efforts? This is unacceptable!"**_ The Master shouted.

Eraqus looked very worried. He stepped back slightly, and watched as his Master stood up. _**"What are we going to do, Master?"**_ He asked.

 _ **"There's only one thing we can do, Eraqus. Xehanort has to be stopped."**_


	12. Day 11

Xehanort had been sitting on a rock on the shores in the realm of darkness, with the heartless at his side. The waves seemed to wash up on the shore after the same amount of time as before, and only ever reached the point they did the previous time.

 _ **"They just repeat like that, over and over?"**_ Xehanort asked the heartless.

It nodded in reply, and floated over to the water, running it's right hand through it, though it seemed to have absolutely no effect on the waves' height.

 _ **"This realm is so empty. There must be few of you left, I assume?"**_ Xehanort inquired.

The heartless turned and floated past Xehanort, motioning for him to follow. Xehanort stood up from the rock, and did so.

As they delved into the shadow, Xehanort found they were on a narrow, winding grey bridge that was surrounded entirely by darkness. As they walked across it, colossal heartless emerged from the darkness to the sides, looking much like the one that Xehanort and Eraqus had fought during their Mark of Mastery.

They reached a wider chunk of land, grey as the bridge before it. Small, feeble heartless emerged from the shadows, almost looking like little toddlers, timid and afraid.

 _ **"These are your brothers and sisters?"**_ Xehanort asked.

The heartless that was guiding him nodded, and picked up one of the small heartless, holding it in it's hand.

Xehanort looked at the small thing, and reached out to it. It stumbled back a bit, attempting to crawl up the larger heartless' arm, but it was stopped from doing so.

Reaching the small heartless, Xehanort petted it's head, and it calmed quickly. _**"They're your family, just like Eraqus and my Master are mine."**_

The floating heartless nodded, as the small heartless let out a distorted purring-like sound.

Xehanort pulled his hand back after a few more moments, and the floating heartless set the small one down. It scurried away, back into the shadows, as all the rest that surrounded Xehanort and the floating heartless did.

 _ **"I apologize that my family has hurt yours. I will do my best to correct the problem, as I can."**_ Xehanort explained, looking the heartless in the eyes. _**"I am going to leave the Land of Departure when I return from this realm, and then I can suppress the light. From there, at least it won't enter into this realm, and I can search for a more suitable solution."**_

The heartless motioned for Xehanort to follow him again, which he did. They made their way through the shadows, until a strange blue and white glow was visible in the distance.

 _ **"What is that?"**_ Xehanort asked.

With no reply but the heartless' continued movement forward, Xehanort stayed silent. Eventually, they reached the edge of a cliff, and could go no further - Not even the floating heartless, as something prevented it from going off of the edge.

That was when Xehanort saw what it was in the distance emitting the glow. A large heart-shaped aura, glowing blue around the edges, with a pale white glow filling it.

Xehanort's eyes widened, and he attempted to leap forward, but was stopped by an invisible barrier.

The heartless shook it's head, and turned to face Xehanort.

 _ **"That thing - That's Kingdom Hearts! It didn't just disappear, it came down here, into your realm!"**_ Xehanort exclaimed.

The heartless nodded.

 _ **"But... not even you and your kind can reach it? It must have some sort of shield around it preventing anyone from going near it."**_ Xehanort pondered.

The two looked at Kingdom Hearts, and simply stared at it for some time. As the moments passed, more heartless joined them in staring at it, until eventually, Xehanort and the floating heartless were surrounded by hunreds of others that simply sat and observed the glowing heart of all worlds.

Xehanort looked around at all the heartless peacefully sitting by him. This was proof enough to him that the darkness was not inherently malevolent - Here they were, man and heartless, co-existing as they gazed at the most primordial force of all: The Heart.

A small smile grew on Xehanort's face, as he turned and looked at the floating heartless, placing his hand on it's shoulder.

 _ **"I have to get back to the Land of Departure. I don't know what the purpose in showing me Kingdom Hearts was, but I feel that it means I must work faster than I expected to, before. You and your family will not be harmed for much longer, I promise you."**_ Xehanort explained.

The heartless nodded at Xehanort's words, and created a portal for Xehanort to use. Xehanort took his hand off of the heartless' shoulder, and walked into the portal, as the heartless watched.

He emerged into his room, and found his belongings in shambles. He huffed, and assumed that his Master must have gone through his room. He noticed it was barely beginning to be light out, and came to the conclusion that time must pass faster in the realm of darkness than it did in his own realm.

He found his bags untied, but their contents left intact. He tied them up, and searched for his journal, but was unable to find it. This worried Xehanort - His Master likely found the journal, and that meant he knew what Xehanort planned to do.

Xehanort realized that this meant he had to leave, now. He could not take anymore time to gather books, or belongings, or anything. He could not even say goodbye to Eraqus, he realized, as he walked towards his door.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his door, rushing out of his room, then the castle. He stopped at the bottom of a set of stairs as he heard a keyblade being summoned. He hadn't fled quick enough.

He summoned his keyblade in his right hand, keeping it ready for anything. _**"Don't try to stop me from doing this, Master."**_ Xehanort said, staying still, but gripping his keyblade's hilt.

 _ **"I'm not our Master, Xehanort."**_


	13. Day 12

Xehanort turned, and was stunned to see Eraqus standing at the top of the stairs, in new armor, holding his keyblade at his side.

 _ **"You're not leaving the Land of Departure, Xehanort. Go back inside, and put your things away."**_ Eraqus told him somberly.

 _ **"Eraqus...?"**_ Xehanort said, in disbelief. _**"But... Our Master, he went through my room, took my journal. Why is it you that's here, then?"**_

Eraqus slowly walked down the stairs, as Xehanort backed up slowly. _**"Our Master didn't go through your room and take your journal, I did. I did what he tasked me with, to figure out what you were up to."**_ Eraqus explained.

Xehanort's face turned to that of shock. He had been betrayed by his own brother, who had said just a day or so ago he refused to choose a side. It was a lie, Xehanort realized. _**"You're letting him use you!? You're better than that, Eraqus! Don't let yourself be brainwashed!"**_ He shouted.

 _ **"I don't want to see anything bad happen to the worlds because you have some sort of hunch, Xehanort! I don't want this, but I have to have it, anyways! If whatever you want to do succeeds, but ends up out of your control, and hurts me, how will you feel!?"**_ Eraqus yelled.

 _ **"I can control what I do!"**_ Xehanort shouted.

 _ **"I don't want to risk my life betting on a gamble you're making, Xehanort. I don't want any of us to risk our lives, just go back inside, put your bags away, and forget whatever plan you've thought up!"**_ Eraqus demanded.

 _ **"What is at stake means far more than my life, your life, the life our Master, none of it! I thought you understood to a degree, Eraqus? I thought you wanted the worlds to be at peace, without conflict?"**_ Xehanort asked.

 _ **"I do. But we can gain that peace once the darkness is gone."**_ Eraqus replied.

Xehanort was baffled by Eraqus' blindness. _**"If you get rid of the darkness, the worlds and the light will follow it into death!"**_ He exclaimed.

 _ **"No, they won't!"**_ Eraqus replied quickly.

 _ **"And how do you know, Eraqus?"**_ Xehanort asked slowly.

 _ **"Our Master knows what he's doing, Xehanort."**_ Eraqus explained.

Xehanort huffed in anger at the glorification of their Master. _**"So you don't want to risk your life betting on a gamble I'm making... but you'll do so for our Master?"**_

Eraqus realized Xehanort's point, but stayed where he stood, right next to Xehanort, looking at him. _**"Our Master's been a master longer than we have. His gamble is a safer one."**_

Xehanort stayed silent at Eraqus' disbelief in him. Left with few choices, Xehanort turned and began walking away slowly.

Eraqus fired orbs of light that went past Xehanort. _**"That was a warning shot, Xehanort. Stop walking that way, turn around, and go into the castle."**_

Watching the light graze his clothing, Xehanort's eyes shot open and twitched. _**"You dare attack me, even if only with a warning shot?"**_ He asked, not even turning to face his brother.

 _ **"I don't want to hurt you, Xehanort."**_ Eraqus responded.

 _ **"Then don't. Let me leave, and-"**_ Xehanort said, before being interrupted.

 _ **"Damn it, Xehanort, get back into the castle, now! Don't make me hurt you!"**_ Eraqus yelled out in anger.

A warning shot, then a verbal threat. That was what Xehanort had from his brother now, in this moment. His eyes continued twitching, as his body began to shake. Finally, realizing he had no choice, he threw his bags to the side.

Xehanort turned to face Eraqus as he summoned his armor. It was new armor, exactly as the man in his dive to the heart had been wearing. _**"This is how it's going to be, then, Eraqus? You are going to try and fight me to make me stay?"**_ He asked, slowly walking towards Eraqus.

Eraqus began slowly backing up. _**"Stay back, Xehanort."**_

 _ **"I thought you wanted me to walk this way?"**_ Xehanort asked, attempting to intimidate Eraqus.

 _ **"I want you to go into the castle, not walk towards me with your keyblade drawn."**_ Eraqus said.

 _ **"We don't all get what we want."**_ Xehanort bluntly stated, as he stopped directly in front of Eraqus, who was backed against the door to the castle.

Eraqus pushed forward, sending Xehanort flying down the stairs, though he landed on his feet.

Xehanort roared in anger as his brother finally chose to actually attack him. He leapt forward, up the stairs, attempting to slam his keyblade down into Eraqus.

Eraqus instead jumped to the side, grabbing onto a lamppost and swinging himself onto the platform, landing at the bottom of the stairs.

Xehanort turned to see Eraqus fire blasts of light at him, which he countered by covering his keyblade in darkness and slicing forward, destroying the blasts.

Eraqus leapt at Xehanort, who grabbed him by his neck, holding him in the air. Eraqus then fired a blast of light from his keyblade, which was pointed to the ground. The blast sent him and Xehanort flying forward, and Xehanort released his grasp on Eraqus' neck.

The two picked themselves up, with Eraqus proceeding to rush at Xehanort, swinging his keyblade downward at him.

Xehanort blocked the swing, pushing forward and knocking Eraqus back. Eraqus stayed on his feet as he slid backwards, barely stopping before he reached the edge of the platform.

Xehanort ran at Eraqus, his hand held behind him creating orbs of darkness that began to shoot towards Eraqus.

Eraqus turned his keyblade into a glider and flew into the sky, firing off orbs of light to destroy the orbs of darkness in explosions of black and white.

Xehanort transformed his keyblade into metal wings on his back, and flew upwards, chasing after Eraqus. He continued to fire off bolts and orbs of darkness, which Eraqus in turn destroyed.

Finally, Xehanort caught up to Eraqus, and used a stop spell to freeze him in mid-air. He then blasted Eraqus to the platform with a large beam of darkness, undoing the stop spell.

Eraqus slammed into the ground, and saw Xehanort descending towards him, keyblade held as to deal the final blow when he landed.

He closed his eyes, but heard Xehanort's blade blocked by another. As he opened his eyes, he saw his Master, clad in his own armor, having blocked Xehanort's attack.

Xehanort slid back as his attack was blocked, and he growled as his Master helped Eraqus to his feet. _**"You turned my brother against me!"**_ Xehanort screamed.

 _ **"You have done that by choosing the path of darkness, Xehanort. I will not let you kill Eraqus, or me, or do any of what you wish to do."**_ The Master spoke.

 _ **"You cannot stop me!"**_ Xehanort shouted.

 _ **"You overestimate yourself, Xehanort. It is you alone, against me and Eraqus."**_ The Master explained.

Xehanort noticed, out of the corner of his eye, small dark portals that began to form on the ground near him. _**"I am not alone,"**_ Xehanort explained as he turned his gaze back towards his Master, _**"I have the support of those you've oppressed and destroyed!"**_

The Master looked on in horror as heartless began to pour out of the portals. Eraqus took it on himself to begin attacking the heartless, which Xehanort attempted to stop him from doing.

Xehanort was blocked, however, by their Master, who placed himself in-between Xehanort and Eraqus.

With a distorted roar, Xehanort delivered a powerful swing towards his Master, who blocked it, but was sent flying through the air as a result.

Xehanort leapt at the Master, and the two began blocking each other's swings in mid-air. Eventually, the Master used a block of his to propel him back towards the roof of the castle. Xehanort transformed his keyblade into a dark chain and sent it towards the castle, pulling himself to it.

Eraqus, meanwhile, was dealing with hundreds of small heartless who began attempting to climb the castle to assist their champion. With dozens of bolts of light, Eraqus cleared the castle walls of heartless, though he was unable to make a dent in the heartless as the portals remained open.

As a large hand emerged from one of the portals, Eraqus fired an orb of light at it. The orb exploded on impact, and Eraqus found that it closed the portal. He began firing off orbs of light towards the rest of the portals, closing them as he could.

Xehanort and the Master leapt from place to place on the roof, trading blows and firing off blasts of dark and light, respectively, at each other. By chance, Xehanort struck the Master with a blast of darkness, which sent him flying into the air once more.

Transforming his keyblade into a massive cannon, he charged a colossal beam in it, as darkness began to emit in a massive aura from Xehanort himself.

Seeing the cannon, the Master was able to use his magic to stop himself mid-air, and mimicked Xehanort's action by transforming the Master Keeper into a cannon of his own.

After closing the final portal, Eraqus looked up and watched as Xehanort and their Master's cannons fired off beams of darkness and light at each other, which, when the two beams met, caused a cataclysmic explosion that blew the roof off of the castle, and sent Xehanort and the Master flying in opposite directions.

The Master transformed his keyblade into a glider and flew to Eraqus on the platform, while Xehanort did the same, though flying to the top of the stairs.

 _ **"Your allies are gone, Xehanort. You can't win."**_ The Master shouted.

As he felt one final presence behind him, Xehanort walked forward slowly. _**"I have one more ally."**_

Eraqus and the Master watched as the floating heartless manifested itself behind Xehanort, it's shadow covering the rest of the platform.

 _ **"If you are so obsessed with confronting the darkness..."**_ Xehanort said, _**"...Then let me send you to it!"**_ He screamed.

Eraqus leapt at Xehanort, but was grabbed by the guardian heartless, who kept him in mid-air with a chokehold.

Xehanort began another clash of blades with the Master, as Eraqus struggled to break free, and soon enough, struggled to breathe.

Doing a backflip, Xehanort landed back at the top of the stairs. The guardian let go of Eraqus, who fell to the ground, and created a pool of darkness that it and Xehanort sunk into.

The pool disappeared, and then reappeared behind the Master. Xehanort shot out of it, flying into the air as the guardian grabbed the Master on the way.

Throwing the Master upwards beyond it and Xehanort into the sky, Xehanort began rushing through the air, slicing at the Master and then disappearing, only to reappear in another position and slash through the Master again.

Finally, Xehanort swung his keyblade at the Master, sending him barreling towards the platform. The guardian fired off a massive beam of darkness at the Master, who was promptly hit by it entirely as he slammed into the ground.

Xehanort flew down to the ground, and stood over the Master, ready to deal the final blow. Eraqus picked himself up off of the ground, and yelled to Xehanort. _**"Wait! Don't!"**_

Xehanort looked towards Eraqus. _**"Give me one good reason."**_

Eraqus was desperate, and knew he couldn't defeat Xehanort alone, nor did he want to be in a position where he had to kill his brother. _ **"Let me take him inside, dismiss whatever that thing is, and I'll let you take whatever you want from here and leave, just leave our Master alive, I beg of you, Xehanort!"**_

Xehanort stood silent for a moment, but then dismissed his keyblade. He looked up over his shoulder at the guardian, who nodded at him and disappeared.

Eraqus rushed to their Master's side, and picked him up. His armor was drenched in darkness, and he seemed to be unconscious.

Xehanort watched as Eraqus ran into the castle with the Master, and he soon followed him inside, though only to the main hallway, at which point he diverged from Eraqus' path and instead went to his room.

He had proven his superiority, and now he was free to do what he planned to do.


	14. Day 13

Xehanort hadn't dared to sleep, even as he became tired, lest he possibly be killed in his sleep. He sent all of his belongings into the realm of darkness, along with whatever books he wished to have from the Library of the Masters.

He instructed the guardian heartless to keep them organized and safe, ready for Xehanort to go through and retrieve when he wished to do so, an instruction which the heartless followed.

So now, Xehanort had everything. Even though Eraqus had betrayed him, he still felt that he should say goodbye, especially if it may be the last thing he would ever say to his brother.

He searched the entire castle, but was unable to find Eraqus in the main hall, his room, or any of the places they usually went to, together.

Finally, he decided to check their Master's room. Sure enough, the door was unlocked, and inside was Eraqus sitting at their Master's bedside.

The Master was bandaged extensively and breathing heavily, though he seemed to be conscious.

 _ **"What do you want, Xehanort?"**_ Eraqus asked bitterly.

Xehanort stepped into the room, looking only at Eraqus. _**"I came to say goodbye."**_

 _ **"Goodbye, then."**_ Eraqus bluntly replied.

Xehanort understood he had brought this on himself, to a degree. He nodded, and slowly walked towards the door, sighing in sadness.

 _ **"Xeha...nort."**_ The Master weakly called out suddenly..

Xehanort wanted to ignore it. The Master's voice only brought him sorrow and anger, but he finally decided to turn and face him, and looking at him, he finally noticed that he was injured massively, beyond what Xehanort had thought he'd initially seen.

The Master looked at Xehanort with his one, unbandaged eye, silent for a moment.

 _ **"What is it, you fool?"**_ Xehanort asked impatiently, bearing only anger in his voice.

 _ **"Don't call him a fool, Xehanor-"**_ Eraqus said, before being interrupted by the Master.

 _ **"Let... him call me... what he wants, Eraqus."**_ The Master weakly stated. _**"You won't... win, Xehanort. You'll never... win."**_

 _ **"You were too weak to defeat me, even with Eraqus at your side. I doubt you'll recover to your full strength - if you recover at all - and Eraqus will never match up with me. You know it's true."**_ Xehanort stated.

The Master's eye twitched, bloodshot as Xehanort took note of. Eraqus looked at Xehanort with anger in his eyes, and the Master looked at Xehanort weakly, a single tear being shed that went down his cheek. He realized Xehanort was right, even if he wasn't going to admit it to him.

 _ **"I... failed you, Xehanort."**_ He said quietly.

Xehanort walked to the side of the bed opposite Eraqus, and looked down at the Master. _**"You failed the worlds, and the balance that should have always been."**_ Xehanort replied, emotion almost absent from his words.

The Master looked up at Xehanort, tears flowing from his eye, and the bandages on his other eye growing damp from tears streaming from it, as well. _**"Then... go on. End... it. Finish... me."**_ He asked of Xehanort.

Eraqus' eyes widened, and he looked towards their Master. _**"Master, no!"**_ He yelled as he summoned his keyblade.

 _ **"Put away your keyblade, Eraqus, I'm not going to do anything to him."**_ Xehanort said, looking at Eraqus. He then looked back to his broken, former master. He could feel nothing, gazing upon him, but loathing. _**"I won't finish you off."**_ Xehanort said to him, _ **"No... I'm going to let you lay here for the rest of your days. I'm going to let you think about what's happened, and what you've done. I'm going to let you live to realize you were wrong, just before you die."**_

Xehanort then walked towards the door. The Master struggled to reach his hand out towards Xehanort. _**"Come... back, Xehanort! Finish me! Do not leave me like... this!"**_ The Master shouted weakly, the pain in his voice apparent.

 _ **"Shh, Master, leave him. You don't need him, I'm going to look after you and heal your wounds."**_ Eraqus told the Master.

Xehanort almost smirked as he heard the obvious lie blurt out from Eraqus. He chose to ignore the Master's desperate cries, and shut the door behind him. He walked through the castle one more time, admiring the walls, furniture, architecture, and decorations.

Looking up at the roof on the top floor, or rather the lack of roof, Xehanort noted that Eraqus would likely fix it, though it was no longer of concern to Xehanort. He thought extensively, as he made his way to the main hall, about how different things could've been if his former master hadn't been so prideful and arrogant.

Xehanort did feel some regret for what had happened, but he knew that even though he had chosen to fight, he had chosen to fight for what he saw as the right cause.

And he would continue to fight for that cause. Balance was not yet achieved - Eraqus would surely carry out his own crusade against the darkness, especially after seeing what it did to their Master.

But if Eraqus and their Master couldn't stop him, then Eraqus alone would never be able to. Eraqus would receive lordship of the Land of Departure, as well as the Master Keeper, but Xehanort would achieve the far greater victory - Balance.

Xehanort opened the door and left the castle, slowly walking down the steps, making his way forward. Finally, he found himself standing on the edge of the platform, before looking over his shoulder, viewing the castle one last time.

He sighed, and then turned his gaze up to the sky. He activated his keyblade glider, though before he could fly off, he was stopped by the appearance of the guardian in front of him.

 _ **"What is it?"**_ He asked of the heartless.

It created a portal, and pointed to it. Xehanort looked to it, and then back to the heartless. _**"I don't want to go to the realm of darkness, right now. I'm sorry, my friend."**_

The heartless shook it's head, and pointed again at the portal.

 _ **"...The portal isn't one to the realm of darkness? Where does it go to, then?"**_ Xehanort inquired.

The heartless simply kept it's arm pointed out at the portal, until Xehanort finally obliged, and went through, emerging on the other side into a barren wasteland.


	15. Epilogue - The Final Morning

Xehanort looked around him at the wasteland. He'd seen this landscape before, though it had many dead keyblades when he saw it.

He must have been elsewhere. He walked through the desert, as a sandstorm formed nearby. The storm soon covered the wasteland, and Xehanort summoned his armor to shield his eyes.

Looking in the distance, he saw the dead keyblades. He was going in the right direction, it seemed, at least he assumed there _was_ a right direction at all.

He noticed as he walked further forward that he was on a path that was between two large fields of dead keyblades. Soon after, he came at an entire crossroads, four fields of keyblades that were separated by the X-shaped path.

He couldn't see or enter the middle, as it was where the storm originated from. He heard some sort of noise from within, and though he couldn't make it in, he tried to get as close as possible, in an attempt to identify the sound.

As he neared, the storm dissipated, and he noticed an armored figure, kneeling, holding onto some sort of blade.

When the storm was gone, everything was clear to see. It was a caped man in armor, keyblade armor from the looks of it. The blade he held onto looked like it was formed from several keyblades, though it did not have a toothed blade emerging at the top, and it seemed to be corrupted and broken, buried in the ground.

 _ **"Who are you?"**_ Xehanort asked.

Upon hearing Xehanort, the man slowly stood up. He drew the blade up from the ground, and held it at his side, as if he was ready to fight.

Xehanort realized, then, what the blade was. His former master had taught him and Eraqus about the Keyblade War, and the blade that all of it's participants fought for - This must be that blade, though broken.

The man walked slowly towards Xehanort, who summoned his keyblade and proceeded to back up.

Finally, the man swung his blade at Xehanort, who attempted to block, but the blade simply passed through Xehanort as if it was a ghost. The man began fighting thin air, it seemed, and he too began fading in and out of sight.

Xehanort assumed that this was either a vision of some sort, or perhaps this man was a spirit from the Keyblade War.

He watched the man fight nothing, and after several minutes, the man flew backwards, and the blade separated from his hands. It then exploded, sending out thirteen large bolts of darkness and seven large bolts of light that flew up into the air, and then shot into the ground below.

Xehanort had no idea what this meant other than that it was likely how the blade had been broken. He then saw, in place of each dead keyblade, an armored ghost appear in it's place.

Each ghost fell to the floor, dying, it seemed. This must have been how the war ended, Xehanort assumed.

The guardian heartless had wanted him to see this for whatever reason, and though Xehanort did not understand it's meaning, he was sure he would eventually find out.

Activating his glider, he then flew off from the Graveyard, making his way to the lanes in-between, where he would plan out his first true move in his plan to bring balance to the worlds.


	16. Secret Ending - Home

**Secret Ending**  
 _"Home"_

* * *

As Xehanort saw Eraqus stumble forward, towards Terra, he smirked. It took him so long to try and remove Eraqus from the board, but more importantly, their Master's agenda from the board, even after he had long been dead himself.

But here it was, at last. With this, he was about to the upper hand for good, without just high hopes that he would do so.

He summoned his keyblade, and with a single strike, Eraqus fell to his knees, dissipating into shimmering light. He dismissed his keyblade immediately afterwards, and observed.

As the light faded away, he saw Terra, his future vessel, crying as he barely held himself up on all fours, nearly hitting the ground. Xehanort stepped towards him slowly, looking down at him after stopping.

 _ **"What a sight."**_ Xehanort spoke simply. _**"Why do you trouble yourself with remorse, Master Terra? The man was bent on doing harm to your friend, his own pupil!"**_

Terra shot his head up, gasping. _**"Master Xehanort! Why?"**_

Turning his back to Terra, Xehanort slowly walked forward. _**"You know, at times I find your progress quite striking. But you still fall short. Let all that anger out, my boy. Give your heart over to darkness!"**_ He exclaimed, stopping where he was.

 _ **"What do you mean?"**_ Terra asked, pulling himself up and summoning his keyblade.

Xehanort sighed quietly. Terra had learned nothing, he realized. And Xehanort himself realized that it would take more than just Eraqus' death to give Terra the push he needed.

He knew what he needed to do, and he understood now that his vision decades ago as an apprentice, the possibility he saw in the dive he made into his heart, was not a possibility - The vision he saw, it was the future, as fate had planned.

 _ **"Still so blind..."**_ He said slowly, turning to face Terra. _**"Then I will make you see. Come to the place where all keyblade wielders leave their mark on fate - The Keyblade Graveyard!"**_ He exclaimed, summoning his keyblade. _**"There, you will watch your dear Ventus and Aqua meet their ends, and the last light within you will die!"**_ He shouted, raising his keyblade to the sky.

He fired a beam of darkness upwards, which created a storm of darkness in the skies above. The day turned to a darkened, artificial night, and that scene from his vision so long ago played out in it's entirety.

The castle began to be torn apart by the storm, the land itself dying around him and Terra. He knew now that the voice he'd heard was right, that he wouldn't always get what he wanted. But this world now meant little to him. To Xehanort, his former home had become little more than a tool to use as he needed, and this was it's final usage.

 _ **"You won't need a home anymore, where you're going!"**_ He told Terra.

Turning around, Xehanort summoned a corridor of darkness and stepped towards it.

 _ **"What!?"**_ Terra shouted, looking around for a moment, before noticing Xehanort walking into the corridor. _**"Xehanort!"**_ He yelled, rushing towards him.

It was too late, however. Xehanort had gone through the corridor, and it closed. Terra looked around him, unable to do anything to save the Land of Departure.

* * *

Xehanort emerged from the corridor, into the realm of darkness. There, as it always was when Xehanort came here, was the heartless he had met so long ago.

It looked at Xehanort, who returned it's gaze. _**"A short stop on my way to the Graveyard, my old friend."**_ Xehanort explained. _**"My plan is about to come to fruition. I've done as I promised you all those years ago."**_

The heartless nodded to him, watching as he opened up another corridor.

 _ **"It's up to you and your kind, when it is done, to prove to me that I was not mistaken in being your champion. I predict that I will not be disappointed, however."**_ Xehanort spoke, looking over his shoulder to the heartless.

It looked at him, giving one more slight nod. Xehanort let out a brief chuckle as he turned his head back forward, walking into the corridor.

The heartless turned around, facing a creeping darkness that spread across the shore. Within the darkness were thousands of pairs of eyes, so much like it's own.

Their chosen one had done well. They would be free and unbound, at last.


End file.
